Tegmina

Tegmina (singular Tegmen) is the thickened fore wings of some insects. The tegmina are used to protect the more vulnerable hind wings. The tegmina offer little or no power during flight and are often held out of the way of the hind wings.

Insects possessing tegmina include:

• Earwigs
• Grasshoppers and Crickets
• Cockroaches
• Mantids

A photograph of the American Cockroach (Periplaneta americana) illustrating the tegmina. Photograph by Gary Alpert, used under GFDL

Related terms

• Blattodea
• Dermaptera
• Elytra
• Mantodea
• Orthoptera
• Stridulation

Related groups of terms

• Invertebrate body structure

Related pages on this web site

• Cockroaches - Order Blattodea
• Earwigs - Order Dermaptera
• Grasshoppers and Crickets - Order Orthoptera
• Insect wings
• Praying Mantids - Order Mantodea

See other words beginning with T